A Review of Joseph 'Skip' Ryan's "Worship: Beholding the Beauty of the Lord"

In an age when everyone is writing a book telling you how you ought to "do church," Skip Ryan's book is a refreshingly biblical little book about what ought to happen when we come together as the church.

I'm pleased with the tone and aim of Ryan's work. He's not out to lambast everyone who worships wrongly. He just wants to see the church doing better at what only it can do. "The single goal of this volume is to get us to hunger for reality in our worship, to taste and see that the Lord is good" (p. 9).

There are just six chapters and two short appendices in this book, which makes it a fairly quick read, even if you take a while to absorb what you read. In each chapter, Ryan uses a passage of Scripture as a springboard for his ideas about worship. Chapter 6, "Drawing Near," which focuses on Heb. 10 and 12, was my favorite chapter—indeed, I think the book would be worth getting for this chapter alone. But I won't ruin it for you....

Throughout the book, Ryan seeks to inspire his Christian audience to real worship, in spirit and truth, with heat (emotion) and light (intellect). He calls attention to a supremely beautiful and holy God who is worthy of praise, and beckons the reader to delight in this God with heart, soul, mind and strength. This worship takes place as the believer participates in the means of grace (for Ryan these are Scriptures, sacraments, prayer and fellowship), and it inspires obedience that honors Jesus.

If you are a John Piper fan, you've probably heard some of what Ryan offers in this book. Honestly, it disappointed me a little how much Ryan seems to rely on Piper. Nonetheless, the principles are true, and Ryan has good thoughts to share from his selected passages, which is why I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to get a better grasp on the essence and implications of real worship.

You can buy this book by clicking here.